Sparkle and Shine
by Abigail Fond
Summary: Peach lifted her face to the sky blanketed with glittering stars and quickly spotted a falling one in her azure eyes. As it streaked away, she closed eyes, clasped her hands and breathed a whispered wish, ‘I wish …just once, that Mario would...'


**Author's Note: **This is my first Mario fic so I hope you'll be nice. Nintendo is a love of mine.

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_'Starlight, starbright  
The first star I see tonight,  
I wish I may, I wish I might,  
Have this wish I wish tonight...'_

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Peach lifted her face to the sky blanketed with glittering stars, spotting a falling one shone quick in her azure eyes. As it streaked away, she closed eyes, clasped her hands and breathed her whispered wish,

'I wish …just once, that Mario would kiss me.'

With her eyes still closed, she bent her head back down to the floor. A cool breeze flew through the night air and swept past her. It fluttered her golden hair around her face, tickling her cheeks and swaying the pink fabric of her flowing gown. She felt her ankles chill beneath the dress in their red high heel shoes.

After a moment, Peach opened her eyes slowly and looked out into the Mushroom Kingdom. From her balcony atop the entrance of the castle, a beautiful scene of rolling grass hills with the town of the toadstools cradled at the base of a small contour in the distance. The lush beauty of everything around her lulled her thinking mind to a state of dreaminess and peace. Her hands were still clasped together in front of her chest.

With the events earlier that day, that was all she could do to ease herself.

Making future bylaws, preparing for events, _planning_ for future events, arguing with the Chancellor for more freedom, ignoring Toadsworth, reading up on late successors, making sure the Power stars were well throughout the castle---–she sighed angrily. It never ended!

There was always too much to do now. New people always appeared, old friends always came to visit, and regular princess duties had to be done. Her hands fell to her side.

So many things had to be handled at once now… Peach knew she missed the time, back when life was just about ruling the land and getting kidnapped. She put her hands on the balcony and bit the inside of her mouth, all the while looking more stressed.

And speaking of getting kidnapped …she hadn't seen the brothers in a while now.

Peach looked down into the moat surrounding her castle, watching the thin moonlight from the clouded sky dance across the gentle moving ripples. Her face slowly dropped from tired to sad.

Usually the two bros. would come to the Mushroom castle at least once a day just to check up on her and take a few hours of her time to lounge and talk. Whether one came at a time or they both did, they would come and sit outside in the courtyard with her, talking and laughing about everything while enjoying special snacks she'd make herself. She never asked her toad servers, she felt it more meaningful to do herself. Plus, her good nature wouldn't allow them do anything else otherwise.

Now she'd seemed to realize, in her first moment of time alone to think about anything else but work, that the two Italian plumbers hadn't visited her in days. Peach's face scrunched up.

Probably Toadsworth had shooed them away at the door a couple times in the days that hadn't showed up. She was going to have a serious talk with him when the hassle of tasks were all over…

Peach sighed softly. Thinking of the two brothers brought her back to her wish. Going back to it, Peach wondered how Mario was doing in the times she hadn't seen him. While she was close with both brothers, she and Mario always had more of a bond.

She looked up the starry sky again.

_Wonder if this wish will come true…_

As Peach's mind was about to drift off again, a whooping shout in the distance echoed around the castle walls and broke her out of the trance she was beginning to fall into. Blinking rapidly, wiping all misty thoughts away from her mind, Peach turned just in time to see a figure jump down right beside her. As much as it startled her to her very being, seeing his short, red familiarity sucked the fright right out of her and caused a smile to illuminate instantly on her face. As she turned to face him fully, he bent up from his crouched position and stood up to his full height. Mario fixed his trademark red cap on his head and gave the Princess a small grin.

'Mario!' She beamed, all her pearly teeth showing full in the moon's pale light. She blinked. 'How'd you get up here?'

Mario turned his head sideways, showed the wings still visibly appearing on its sides. She continued to smile. 'Oh, right.' Peach laughed lightly. 'It's so good to see you!'

Mario blinked up at her and with his grateful smile still on his face, he took a step forward to her, took off his cap and bowed. Before he could come back up from the position, Peach was already on him giving him a hug.

'There's no need for that, I keep telling you.' she told him in a light tone. 'You are too important a person to behave as if I am someone more than such.' She pulled away a bit so she could look into his face with a smile still. 'That's what I keep telling everyone here to do as well.'

Mario grinned, nodding his head and let the Princess pull away fully. She was still kneeling in front of him, to make their height difference more comfortable. She looked him eye to eye.

'Mario, I am always so grateful to see you. You always know when to come when I need help.'

He tilted his head in a curious manner. Why was the Princess talking like that? Did she need help? Was she in trouble? _Was_ there trouble?

Peach noted the distressed worry in his face and blinked. She shook her head vigorously.

'Oh, no Mario! Don't worry! It's not like that! There's nothing to worry about. I'm only talking in past tense.' Seeing his face still not getting it, she giggled. In her etiquette-manner, she brought a white-gloved hand up to her lips to cover the foolishness of her state. Mario raised a brow. Peach looked around, trying to pick words.

'I mean, I'm just remembering the good times. Well, not exactly good, they were always bad. I mean, me getting kidnapped and you having to save me…' As she flustered on, Mario smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting to see how much she could dish out. Seeing Mario's cheekiness to the while situation, Peach took a deep breath and sighed. She was getting herself nowhere.

'I mean, _those_ were better times than this.'

Mario unfolded his arms and looked wide-eyed at her. Why she for real? She _liked_ all the mess she went through? Not to mention what _he_ had to go through _because_ of her?

Sensing his confusion, Peach quickly added, 'I mean, better times _for me._' Mario raised his eyebrow again. She seriously wasn't making any sense. Peach knew that.

She sighed deeply and stood up from her kneeled position in front of Mario and walked in paces around the balcony. Mario watched her with his blue eyes as she moved. The sound of her heels clicking the stone floor and the swaying of the gown was heard under the ripple of her nervous, edgy voice in his ears, but he stood patiently.

'Back then, all I had to look forward to was rule over the castle and hope the next time Bowser returned, you'd be there to save me.' As she twiddled her thumbs together she stopped at that sentence to look down to Mario and give him a small smile. He returned it and satisfied she continued. 'But now, there's much on my plate I have to handle now. With every new world we discover, I'm opened up to more visitors, more rules and more events are to be held to welcome all of this. It was nice at first, but now…'

Peach sighed and looked out from the balcony now.

'It's too much.' She looked back to him and found Mario to have a serious and understanding face. She looked back out into the lands.

'I have no time for myself anymore, Toadsworth is always on my case, there's always some new trouble I have to fix or see to, and the worst part is…'

She fell on her knees and closed her eyes, drawing out a deep sigh. Then she looked up into Mario's face.

'..I never get to see you anymore.' Mario gave her a look of sympathy and tilted his head slightly. She sighed again.

'_I miss you._ I miss Luigi. I miss hearing the sound of Yoshi's tongue sticking out to eat something. I miss Daisy telling me all about everything that's happening outside Mushroom castle... I don't even hear what's going on anymore with Bowser or King Boo in the nearby worlds. I don't even have time to stare at the paintings around the castle anymore…'

Mario took some steps closer to Peach until he was standing directly beside her, and like the pillar of strength he was always to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder which she gratefully grasped. She continued.

'I want things the way they were when it was just us, some koopas, a couple of Chain Chompers ..and Bowser coming to get me…not that I'm saying I wish I'd never met everyone else! O-or that I like all that trouble we went through!' Mario gave her a smirk which she expertly copied before she frowned again. Peach was saying too much and thinking a whole lot of different things at the same time. She felt exhausted and decided to leave it at that.

Mario, seeing her face looked drained and her mouth run dry of words, took it as a sign she finished. He patted her hand signalling her to look her up. When she did, he gave a soft smile and a reassuring nod, before pulling her up to her feet. When she stood tall, he kept a hold on her hand. Peach rubbed her eyes and returned a soft smile of her own.

'Thank you again, Mario. See? This is what I mean when you I say, you're always there to help me. No matter what. And again I'm grateful, as always.'

Mario grinned. Peach smiled back with a disappointed glaze in her eyes. There he was, like usual when he'd save her from Bowser's clutches. She'd say her thanks, he would grin and she would plant a kiss atop his nose. _Never my turn, eh?_ She sighed inwardly, but as happy and grateful as she truly was for Mario always being there, she bent to down to give him another.

But instead, she felt the finger of his gloved hand rather than the smooth skin of his bulbous nose. Peach opened her eyes and blinked confused. Still in her kneeled position, Mario moved closer to her face.

And instead, he pressed a light kiss to her. Her cheek was left with a tingly warm feeling when he pulled away.

Pulling back away fully, Mario took two steps back and with a small grin still on his face, he removed his cap again and bowed on one knee. Peach stood there still sparkle eyed, and a bit flustered from it still. But regaining her composure before she knew he would take his leave, she flashed him a shy, but happy smile and nodded adieu.

Mario put his red cap back on and after nodding in return, he jumped into the air and took off, the wings from his cap emerging and shouting 'Woohoo!' he flew off into the sky back to his respected bed for the night.

Peach, even after his figure had blended too dark into the night sky for her to see, continued to watch the trail of sparkling glitter that was trailed behind from the magic of his cap. It lined the night starry sky with more shine. Peach blinked up to it before smiling again.

A racket in the back of the room behind the door was sounded and the balcony doors behind Peach burst open and old Toadsworth made his appearance onto the scene. With his cane gripped tightly in his shaking hand, and waved a fist and jumped in the air soundly, huffing shouts.

'Confounded Mario! I knew it was him! The minute I heard that familiar whoop of a shout, I know he'd come back here! Returning _everyday_! I keep telling him the Princess is just too busy! But no, does the man every listen to me? Heh! You bet your mushroom he…'

Clasping her hands in front of her again, Peach closed her eyes and bent her head down in deep thought, not hearing a word the elder mushroom had left to say. The only thing swimming in her mind was the fact of knowing that, even if she couldn't see anyone outside the castle tomorrow, he'd come back again, just to try. And … her wish took less than 24 hours to be granted.

It was a new record.

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Yeah, I'm a sucker for the fluffy sweet moments but come on, it's not gonna be that corny. Heh, as well I decided to make Mario mute in this ficlet because Mario doesn't really speak much in the game except for his occasional shouts so I hoped this did him some justice.

Hoped you liked. Don't forget to drop a review!


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